Fox is still releasing a lot of classic in Spain, never released in USA (1 Viewer)

[benbrigade]

Attention Colin and Mike Richards:

My Copy of "Smoke Signal" finally arrived. Its a pretty good transfer but way below the super quality Koch German releases of Universal Westerns.
I do not think the film deserves that "5 star" treatment as the film is below Universals
usual high standards.What sank the film for me was too much really tacky back
progection.
In the same Starscafe parcel was "The Iron Mistress" a stunning transfer and a great film to boot.
I have seen the screencaps for the Spanish "Taza Son Of Cochise" and they look great;the Mundodvd folks seem to think its better than the USA version.
Oddly enough the film seem to have been modified into scope.

Its a pity these Spanish DVDs vary so much in quality but when they are good they are very good.
The following Spanish DVDs are in my opinion are top notch transfers.

POWDER RIVER
PONY SOLDIER
VIOLENT SATURDAY
ACROSS THE WIDE MISSOURI
LONE STAR
ONE FOOT IN HELL
ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDE
COLORADO TERRITORY
CATTLE EMPIRE
UNION PACIFIC
GAMBLER FROM NATCHEZ.
SPRINGFIELD RIFLE

Highly recommended but not quite as good as the above:
CITY OF BAD MEN
WESTWARD THE WOMEN

I have "Sign Of The Pagan" on order so I will keep you posted.

The screencaps for "Mississippi Gambler" look terrible which is a pity because I am really
after that title.Vintage movie fans should check out the Spanish Universal website
www.universalpicturesiberia.es and click into screen classics;they are issuing more and
more great films on a regular basis. With the exception of the aforementioned title most
of their films are decent transfers.

 

[Corkiemike]

Thanks John, that's a good long post with interesting information, and I've made note of your recommended DVDs.
I'm now off to view the Spanish Universal site.
from Mike

 

[lionel59]

Thanks very much Thomas and others for the above information. I will soon have the Wide Screen Spanish dvd of THE JOURNEY with Brynner+ Kerr and will report on it's quality etc. Anyone know if any of the following are in Wide Screen (anamorphic or LBX)? : THE GREAT IMPOSTER (Curtis), SPANISH GARDENER (Bogarde),BEDTIME STORY (Brando),AS LONG AS THEY'RE HAPPY (Dors),COUNTERPOINT (Heston) and REGINA (Ava Gardner,Jason Robards)? Also, is THE SECOND TIME AROUND anamorphic? Looking forward to hearing about SIGN OF THE PAGAN. Great news re FATE IS THE HUNTER being 2.35 to 1. It plays here on Fox cable at -ugh!- 1.85 to 1. This trend of cropping Scope movies to fill Wide monitors so folk with no understanding of ratios won't have to put up with black bars on the screen is cause for concern here in Australia! Mike

 

[kagemusha98]

Just bought in Barcelona THIS EARTH IS MINE ( Rock Hudson, Jean Simmons) and THE WORLD THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL.

 

[Douglas R]

Originally Posted by Ken Koc
Just bought in Barcelona THIS EARTH IS MINE ( Rock Hudson, Jean Simmons) and THE WORLD THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL.

Ken - is THE WORLD.... 2.35:1 anamorphic and in true stereo (originally 4 track)?

 

[Thomas T]

My IN LOVE AND WAR (1958) arrived today from Spain. It's 4x3 wide screen 2.35.

 

[kagemusha98]

"THE WORLD is in stereo but not anamorphic and not progressive!!!! Very disappointing!

 

[lionel59]

Hi Ken,
What is the quality like on THIS EARTH IS MINE? Can you recommend a website to buy it from? Thanks, Mike
P.S. How does the foreign YOUNG BESS compare with the WB Archive disc? I recall you stating you have both.

 

[kagemusha98]

THIS EARTH IS MINE is in 2.35 but not anamorphic. It comes with quite a nice booklet with still and information about the film ( in Spanish). YOUNG BESS looks vastly better on the Spanish DVD!
THE WORLD THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL come with the famous "Duck and Cover" "instructional film" as well as a booklet on how to prepare for a nuclear attack. Too bad the transfer is so weak.
I will be going to Barcelona 7 more times this month from New York. I could easily pick up a copy and send it to you.

 

[lionel59]

Thanks Ken,
I have sent you a private message re this.I have a very POOR copy of this movie at present so will be very glad to have a studio release. Is the print/transfer good in your opinion? Has Barcelona released anything else from this era that has not been released elsewhere? Cheers, Mike

 

[lionel59]

Can anyone provide screen caps or let me know their thoughts on the picture quality on KING OF THE KHYBER RIFLES and THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV? I believe the latter is 16x9. Thanks, Mike

 

[lionel59]

Hi Ken, I am still interested in your kind offer to grab me a copy of THIS EARTH IS MINE on one of your trips to Barcelona. Please contact me via a private message whenever it is convenient for you. Cheers, Mike

 

[hotdog842]

I am thinking of buying Lydia bailey from Starscafe. Does anyone have this title? does it have an english soundtrack and how is the quality?

 

[Robin9]

Nine Hours To Rama (Nueve Horas De Terror) is in anamorphic widescreen.

 

[Professor Echo]

Does anyone know why the Region 2 THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER from Germany runs 94 minutes as opposed to the actual running time of 98 minutes? Is it PAL speed up? I can't find any solid information about the time discrepancy anywhere.

Also, any word on the Koch release of RIO CONCHOS?

 

[Marcel H.]

It is PAL speed up.
Rio Conchos will be released on March 25. The same day Koch will release From Hell to Texas.

 

[Professor Echo]

Thanks for the quick response and info, Marcel!

 

[Corkiemike]

[SIZE= 14px]SPANISH DVD, GUNMAN’S WALK[/SIZE]
[SIZE= 14px]After reading reports about the French DVD version of this film with great picture, but impossible to remove forced subs, I thought I’d buy the Spanish Columbia DVD from Starscafe instead.[/SIZE]
[SIZE= 14px]The good news, the subs are easily removed from the start menu. The bad news, yet again this is another Spanish DVD presented in 4 x 3 letterbox wide screen, not the much better quality anamorphic widescreen. [/SIZE]
[SIZE= 14px]So you have to either zoom the television picture to fill the screen, or set TV to 14 x 9, that does give black bars all around the picture, but I found this gave the best picture, as the bigger image from zooming degrades the picture quality slightly if viewed on a set with screen size larger than 32”.[/SIZE]
[SIZE= 14px]Now many homes have a widesceen TV, or soon will have, I really can’t understand why new DVDs are being put out in Spain in this outdated format.[/SIZE]

 

[lionel59]

Is it time to hold funeral services for this thread?
Just thought I'd add a note re two Susan Hayward Spanish releases I have recently picked up.
WHITE WITCH DOCTOR is a great print /transfer which seems to have the lustre of true Technicolor (although from what I can understand most if not all of the Fox Technicolor negs were transferred to Eastman color negs and then destroyed, thus they cannot do what Ted Turner did with the MGM/Warner/RKO Technicolor films, ie restore them fully from the original 3-strip negs.)
UNTAMED got poor comments from others on these pages but I am quite happy with it. It is not anamorphic but sharp nonetheless. The full 2.55:1 ratio has been presented.The color has a slight tinge of brown to it, but not distractingly so. The sound is not as robust as it would have been if the 4-track magnetic masters had been transposed, however the stereo sound seems to still be there.(Dolby 2.0 according to the cover). If Twilight takes years to give us this wonderfully scored movie (by Franz Waxman) on Blu Ray, this will certainly keep me happy in the interim period of time! Cheers, Mike

 

[Aunt Peg]

I recently purchased William Wylers' These Three. The quality was just like poor video master but at least it can be watched without forced subtitles. I will replace this should it ever surface in better condition somewhere else.
On the other hand about a year ago I purchased Arise, My Love which Universal released in Spain. The print was stunning and it has removable subtitles.